Meek

After failing as an apprentice cooper and a town guard, Eli finds his place at the Rockbridge archives. Sure, he's the oldest 'junior scribe,' but he likes the job. And he's good at it, too. Then he completes an apparently-insignificant project, and the brutal reaction shocks him--with consequences that eventually shake the world.

Eli gains powers. Rare and inhuman abilities. He progresses slowly, steadily, and not without setbacks. He changes, too. Is he a hero, a villain, a human, a monster? Depends who you ask.

Meek is an epic fantasy with elements of progression. The basic magic is simple, but complexity arises from combinations ... and the protagonist wields a magic all his own. Meek is set in the Valley, the only (as far as anyone knows) human empire that survived a Final Battle against a terrible foe. The Valley is warded against infiltration, but the enemy learned how to warp human souls, to foment discord within.

However, another soul is also ... changed. Perhaps even 'warped.' And that soul is starting on a long (long, long) path that might, one day, prove that the Final Battle wasn't so final after all.